Tips for IVF

[LilyPoppet1]

Happy new year everyone,
We start IVF this month for the first time and I was wondering what tips you may have
I've read about constipation, so bought stool softener. Heat packs and ice packs, colouring book to get me off my phone, comfy clothes, going to get face masks for self care.
Just looking for ideas which made you feel better and get through the process?
Thanks!

Hi! I started in November. One thing I found is that my mind was my worst enemy 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 all medications were absolutely fine for me very minimal side effects and egg collection completely fine but the anxiety/overthinking I had about it all was horrific!

So the advice I would give you is do things in January that make you happy and try not to overthink ❤️ good luck on your journey!

Try and forget you’re doing IVF. Mentally it is so much harder than the physical. I was lucky and had no side effects but my goodness, mentally it killed me.

Oh exciting you’re starting soon! I had my egg collection in October we’re doing FET and are due for implantation in the next week.

I didn’t have any side effects from the meds either, so surprised as I’d felt awful on Letrozole and metformin. If anything I felt better and want a bit of whatever was in those meds after haha.

I was sore after the egg collection, I know not everyone will have the same experiences but I wasn’t prepared for how sore that would feel and walked like I had a pole up my butt 😆 I had a few days off work to relax, after about 5/6 days I felt loadsss better.

Diet wise I’ve been as healthy as I can be, cut out sugar, no alcohol and limited caffeine. I’ve been drinking hot water and lemon which I’m actually quite liking. Eating lots of protein, salmon, veg, legumes & wholemeal sourdough. I have had the odd treat of some pizza here and there and a full Christmas dinner. I think sometimes the stress of worrying too much about what you’re eating won’t do your mind or stress levels any favours! Do what you want to make you feel your best. ❤️

Happy New Year @LilyPoppet1

You’ve gotten some great advice already, and I completely agree—mentally, IVF can be very challenging. The physical side may not be as bad as you expect, but managing your thoughts and emotions is going to be key.
For me, I found it helpful to focus on self-care and keeping a routine.
Mindset really matters... Like others said, try to keep your mind occupied with things that make you happy. Colouring book is a great idea but maybe line up some feel-good movies, podcasts, or an easy-to-read book? It’s nice to have options when you need to take your mind off things.

I focused on eating well and staying hydrated and following my clinic's instructions to a tee (including what supplements were okay to take etc). I think that's really important and are about the only things we can really control.
Guided meditations have really helped me process my feelings and keep calm. I used an app called mindfulivf but there are many great fertility-specific meditations online that you can access for free.

You’re starting a very important journey, and it’s okay to feel all the emotions along the way. Just remember to be kind to yourself.
Sending you lots of positive vibes! ❤️

Following
& sending all the luck

Ohhh great, thank you. I've been so worried about physical side effects!
My phone is my biggest enemy, I need to break that habit!
I'd love any recomendations on feel good films and TV shows

@LilyPoppet1 I'm the worst at remembering names of movies/series I'm afraid. The 2 that come to mind now are Schitt's Creek and Grace and Frankie. But they're quite old so you might have watched them already?

Ohh great taste! Schitts creek is my favourite!

As others have said physically it was fine for me. I was quite sore for about 24 hours after egg collection which I really wasn't prepared for. The 5 days after egg collection were the most mentally tough for me as that was where there was a lot of unknowns (my afc matched what we got at egg collection, my transferred embryos were poor quality so I wasn't expecting much from that), I took the time off work and will definitely do that again next time - just try to keep busy with things you enjoy.
We're doing IVF for secondary infertility so I did find it difficult to find time to relax and take it easy with a toddler, I think that would have been much easier without an existing child.